Feel & Flourish

All my life I thought I was a dog person. I grew up with dogs.
My parents have 4 hairy, drooly, adorable ones currently.
I would see cats and always feel like I didn't understand them.
Until Jackson and Evie.

I moved into my apartment on Spotswood Ave in July.
After 6 long years of having roommates I was finally free.
Free to prance around my apartment in my undies, and listen to music as loud as I wanted,
and heck, go for days without doing the dishes.
But something was missing.
Having your own apartment is great and all, but it got lonely... fast.

A lady at who works at the salon I work at part time is known as the ultimate
cat lady. She would always come up to me and show me images of the latest
cat she rescued. I think the moment I got hired, she felt in her cat lady
intuition that I would be just like her someday. She would nudge me and ask
me weekly if I would take one in. Until I saw this big eyed grey kitten... my Evie.
As soon as I saw this photo I knew that she would be mine forever.

That night she brought over three kittens, Evie, Jackson & Jackson's brother
(who got adopted and his name is Moses). My boyfriend Andrew (who was just
my friend at this time), came over and was there for moral support as I was deciding
on which kitty to pick. Jackson was terrified of us. He hid in the corners of my apartment
the whole night.

Jackson, Evie, and Moses came from the not-so-great part of town. Their parents were
ferral cats. These are the wild cats that have never really had any human encounters.
They were found eating trash in the dumpster at 4 & 8 weeks old (Jackson is 4 weeks
younger than Evie). They were going to be used as dog bait for dog breeders who train
their dogs to fight. Thankful for angel Dottie who saved these babies from that life.
So, this is why Jackson was so terrified of us.

I will never forget the little white tipped baby walking over to the ball I bought him
and starting to play with it. I remember Andrew and I looking at each other and saying
"that one."

Owning a pet is so rewarding. Because they aren't just a pet, they are your family.
I find myself sitting on the couch with these two, cuddling or playing and being
filled with so much joy, because they are mine... forever.